Seán is one of the world’s most highly acclaimed artistic producers in international multi-arts festivals and events. His artistic leadership has spanned several countries and two continents in opera, literature, visual arts and the performing arts. He is currently Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Arts Over Borders (Ireland) and Co-Director of the ideas and programming consultancy DoranBrowne (London).
In the past decade, Seán co-curated with his long time artistic partner, Liam Browne, Liverpool’s Sgt. Pepper at 50 Festival (2017) delivering thirteen stand-out world premiere events to the 13 iconic album tracks (The Times accorded his Mark Morris Pepperland dance commission as the 2017 Show of the Year). In Ireland from 2012, he has founded the world’s exclusive multi-arts festivals celebrating Irish writers Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett (Happy Days), Brian Friel (Lughnasa FrielFest) and Oscar Wilde (A Wilde Weekend by Lough Ernest) and Northern Ireland’s first international multi-arts festivals since 1962. A former Artistic Director & Chief Executive of the English National Opera (2003-2006), Seán was the first Irishman to head one of England’s national arts companies. It was his concept to take opera to Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage with a 100 piece orchestra & 9 singers for Wagner’s Valkyrie (introduced by John Peel on live television) and also to grass Trafalgar Square for its first opera.